Electrical machine with stator with coolant distributor chamber and coolant collector chamber

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11476730-B2
Application number	US-201816614798-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 18, 2018
Priority date	May 19, 2017
Publication date	Oct 18, 2022
Grant date	Oct 18, 2022

Abstract

An electric machine, for example for a motor vehicle, is disclosed. The electric machine includes a rotor rotatable about an axis of rotation that defines an axial direction of the electric machine, and a stator including stator windings. A coolant distributor chamber and a coolant collector chamber are provided, and arranged with an axial spacing to one another. The coolant distributor chamber fluidically communicates with the coolant collector chamber for cooling the stator windings via at least one cooling channel that can be flowed through by a coolant. At least one of the stator windings is embedded into a plastics compound composed of an electrically insulating plastic for thermal coupling.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electric machine, comprising:
a rotor rotatable about an axis of rotation that defines an axial direction, and a stator including stator windings,
a coolant distributor chamber and a coolant collector chamber which is arranged with an axial spacing to the coolant distributor chamber, wherein the coolant distributor chamber fluidically communicates with the coolant collector chamber for cooling the stator windings via at least one cooling channel that can be flowed through by a coolant, wherein at least one of the stator windings is embedded into a plastics compound composed of an electrically insulating plastic for thermal coupling,
wherein at least one of the coolant distributor chamber and the coolant collector chamber is arranged in a region of at least one of a first axial end portion and a second axial end portion of the at least one stator winding,
wherein the coolant distributor chamber and the coolant collector chamber are, for thermal coupling to the at least one stator winding, at least partially arranged in the plastics compound, wherein the plastics compound extends in the axial direction along the at least one stator winding embedded therein from the first axial end portion to the second axial end portion to at least partially delimit the coolant distributor chamber and the coolant collector chamber, and wherein the plastics compound extends along a radially outside of the coolant distributor chamber and the coolant collector chamber beyond the first axial end portion and the second axial end portion of the at least one stator winding in the axial direction;
wherein at least one of the coolant distributor chamber and the coolant collector chamber has a U-shaped or C-shaped geometrical shape in a longitudinal section along the axial direction;
wherein the stator has stator teeth extending along the axial direction and arranged spaced apart from one another along a circumferential direction of the rotor,
wherein the at least one cooling channel and the at least one stator winding are embedded in the plastics compound and arranged in a common intermediate space that is disposed between two stator teeth which are adjacent in the circumferential direction,
wherein the common intermediate space comprises a first partial space where the at least one stator winding is arranged, and a second partial space where the at least one cooling channel is arranged, and
a positioning aid is arranged between the first and second partial spaces, wherein the positioning aid positions the at least one cooling channel in the second partial space.

2. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of the coolant distributor chamber and the coolant collector chamber surrounds the at least one of the first axial end portion and the second axial end portion respectively of the at least one stator winding in U-shaped or C-shaped fashion in a longitudinal section along the axis of rotation.

3. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of the coolant distributor chamber and the coolant collector chamber is arranged both radially at an outside and radially at an inside at a respective one of the first axial end portion and the second axial end portion of the at least one stator winding.

4. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of the coolant distributor chamber and the coolant collector chamber has a ring-shaped geometrical shape in a cross section perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotor.

5. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling channel and the at least one stator winding are embedded in the plastics compound, and wherein a portion of the plastics compound is disposed between and separates the at least one cooling channel from the at least one stator winding.

6. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of the coolant distributor chamber and the coolant collector chamber is defined by a cavity provided at least partially in the plastics compound.

7. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling channel is completely embedded into the plastics compound composed of the electrically insulating plastic and is separated from the at least one stator winding via the plastics compound.

8. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
the positioning aid comprises two projections disposed on the two stator teeth that are adjacent in the circumferential direction, and
the two projections face toward one another in the circumferential direction and project into the common intermediate space beyond circumferential ends of the at least one cooling channel for positioning the at least one cooling channel and providing a radial stop for the at least one cooling channel.

9. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an additional electrical insulator extends within the common intermediate space over an entire length, measured along the axial direction, of the common intermediate space, such that said additional electrical insulator insulates the stator windings with respect to the stator and with respect to the stator teeth that delimit the common intermediate space.

10. The electric machine as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the at least one stator winding is electrically insulated, by at least one of the plastics compound and the additional electrical insulator, with respect to the at least one cooling channel formed as a tubular body.

11. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
in at least one intermediate space between two stator teeth of the stator, the plastics compound is composed of a single plastic, and
in the at least one intermediate space, there is arranged an additional electrical insulator composed of an electrically insulating material.

12. The electric machine as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the additional electrical insulator is arranged between the stator windings and the two stator teeth.

13. The electric machine as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the additional electrical insulator surrounds the stator windings within the at least one intermediate space over at least an entire length of the at least one intermediate space along a circumference thereof.

14. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of:
the electrically insulating plastic comprises a thermoset, and
the electrically insulating plastic comprises a thermoplastic.

15. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling channel is embedded in the plastics compound such that the at least one cooling channel with the plastics compound is provided in at least one intermediate space between two stator teeth arranged adjacent in the circumferential direction.

16. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling channel is arranged at least one of radially outside and radially within the respective stator winding in an intermediate space.

17. The electric machine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one cooling channel is a tubular body which surrounds a tubular body interior space,
wherein, on the tubular body, at least one partition element is provided which divides the tubular body interior space into at least two partial cooling channels which are fluidically separate from one another.

18. The electric machine as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the tubular body is a flat tube with two wide sides and two narrow sides.

19. The electric machine as claimed in claim 17 , whe

Assignees

• Mahle Int Gmbh

Inventors

• Hoerz Mirko
• Steurer Hans-Ulrich
• Sonntag Josef
• Markic Stojan
• Licen Andrej
• Medvescek Aleks
• Sever Peter
• Grabherr Philip

Classifications

• H02K5/1732

  radially supporting the rotary shaft at both ends of the rotor (H02K5/1737 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H02K9/197

  in which the rotor or stator space is fluid-tight, e.g. to provide for different cooling media for rotor and stator · CPC title

• H02K1/20

  with channels or ducts for flow of cooling medium · CPC title

• H02K1/16

  Stator cores with slots for windings · CPC title

• H02K9/227

  Heat sinks · CPC title